Gauntlet for handle bar grips



March 21,1944; R. H. HARDER 2,344,545

GAUNTLET FOR HANDLE BAR GRIPS Filed 0st,. 9. 1940 Patented Mar. 21, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GAUNTLET FOE HANDLE BAR GRIPS Robert H. Harder, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 9, 1940, Serial No. 36%,332

(Cl. 2-47) I 8 Claims.

This invention has to do with a gauntlet and relates particularly to such a device for use in association with a hand grip upon a vehicle handle bar or the like.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an improved gauntlet as the aforesaid that drapes about the wrist and forearm of the user to effectively shield these parts of the body from both direct and eddy currents of air.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new gauntlet which combines with the feature of draping closely about the forearm the desirable characteristic of readily permitting insertion and withdrawal of the users hand.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a gauntlet device incorporating means whereby attachment is readily had to a handle bar in a manner discouraging petty theft.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel gauntlet having spacious side panels especially suited for portraying pictorial or other embellishments or advertising printed matter.

Still a further object of this invention is the provision of a gauntlet device as the aforesaid and of which the parts are especially adapted for fabrication into an assembly attractive in appearance.

These and additional desirable objects will become apparent from the appended claims and the following description which is to be read with reference to the single sheet of drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a gauntlet device embodying the preferred form of my invention and installed upon a bicycle handle bar;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through the device;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a support ng framework constituting a part of the device.

Referring now to the drawing wherein the same reference characters appearing in different views designate the same respective parts, and with particular attention to Figs. 1. 2 and 3, my improved gauntlet device indicated generally at it will be seen to comprise a pair of oval or elongated side panels I! and i2. These panelsll and I! are preferably made of flexible sheet material such as fabric or leather.

Said panels are suitably joined as by stitching l3 at their front edges and their front upper and front lower edges with a wall member M which may be of the same sheet material as the side wall panels I I and I2.

The front section or wall of the wall member I4 is provided with an opening [5, and a sleeve id of elastic material is sewed or otherwise suitably secured at an end to said front wall immediately about said opening.

Installation of the device upon a handle bar i1 is accomplished by inserting an end I 8 thereof inwardly through the opening l5 and the sleeve It, said opening and sleeve being smaller in diameter than a hand grip member [9 wherefore this member is removed prior to installation of the deviceand replaced later back of the sleeve It in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This arrangement enables the hand grip member It to be locked or otherwise held sufiiciently securely upon the handle bar as to discourage petty theft of the gauntlet device, the sleeve l5 gripping the bar I8.

After the device is in place the operator can reach thereinto through an access opening 29 with one of his hands for grasping the hand grip la in the usual manner, it being understood that another device I!) (not shown) will be similarly associated with the hand grip l9 upon the other end of the handle bar so both hands of the operator will be protected.

One advantage of the present device lies in its attractive appearance and this is accomplished in part and preserved by the use of stiffening means about the edges of the panels H and I2. Such stiffening means in the present embodiment is in the form of a bead or welt 23 extending along the lower edges of said panels II and I2 backwardly from a point substantially adjacently to the lower rear end 2| of the wall member l4 and along the rear edges of said panel members and forwardly to a point substantially at the upper rear end 22 of said wall member I l. As illustrated in Fig. 3 this stiifening means is formed folding the edge of the material inwardly along a line and doubling the edge of the material outwardly about a line 25 and again folding the material along a line 26 to extend the edge 21 in overlapping relation with the main body ofv the panel where it is held in place by stitching 28. Stitching 29 prevents unfolding of the folds 24 and A forward extension of the access opening 29 s provided between the lower edges of the panels H and I2 by terminating the lower forward end 2! of the wall M a considerable distance forwardly of the rear edges of said panels. The sides of this access opening extensions are bordered by the thrums of fringe members and SI of which the base sections 32 and 33 are secured as by stitching 34 and 35 to lower edge sections of the panel members If and I2. Such forward extension of the access opening expedites spreading of the panel members H and I2 to facilitate access through said opening, and the fringe members 38 and 3| serve to minimize the entrance of air and eddy currents thereof upwardly into the device and to thereby protect the wrist and forearm of the operator. Sinc the sides of the wall member l4 converge toward the front lower end 2| of said member and the lower edges of the panels II and I2 converge backwardly to meet at said end 2 I, the front portions of the fringes 30 and 3| effectively preclude entry of an air stream into the access opening extension from the front.

A framework support member 36, shown in perspective in Fig. 4, may be assembled with the gauntlet as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Said support member 36 may be mad from a single piece of wire or the like of which'the central portion is bent to provide anarch 31 and arches 38 and 39 which complementally effect a ferrule 40 and are respectively joined to the ends of the arch 3'! by straight sections 4| and 42. The end section of the rod-like member from which the framework 36 is formed are bent into upwardly and backwardly curved members 43 and 44.

The framework 36 may be assembled with the gauntlet device prior to installation of said device upon the handle bar I! and this is done by inserting. the elastic sleeve l6 backwardly into the ferrule 40 and the arch 31. prior to insertion of the handle bar end section I8 into said sleeve in the aforesaid manner. After such insertion of the handle bar end section the gauntlet and framework 36 will be associated with the handle bar and the hand grip [9 in the manner illustarted in Figs. 2 and 3, where it will be seen that said upwardly and backwardly extending rib .members 43 and 44 are so disposed as to register with the juncture lines between the intermediate wall member 14 and the panels H and I2. Loops 45 and 46 are provided upon the rear upper edges of the panels ii and I2 for receiving said rib members. The ribs 43 and 44 support the device against sagging whil the arch 31 bears downwardly upon the elastic sleeve l6 and the handle bar end section l8 and the ferrule section 49 clamps firmly onto said sleeve and handle bar due to resilience in the framework members 4! and 42. Thus the ferrule 40 and the arch 31 prevent tilting of the framework relatively to the handle bar. The wall member l4 will ordinarily be made sufficiently narrow to enable the panels H and E2 to drape about the operator's hand, and if the framework 36 is omitted from the device the wall M will also drape abouthis hand.

While the drawing illustrates no printed or pictorial matter upon the side wall panel members H and I2, these panels are obviously adapted to display printed decorative or advertising layouts and it is intended that they be so used.

I claim:

1. In a handle bar gauntlet, an elongated cuif having a front end opening for receiving a section of said handle bar and a rear end access opening, cufi support means within said cuff and for attachment upon said handle bar, and

said cuff comprising opposed generally upright side wall sections depending from said support means at their upper edges, the lower edges of said side wall sections being freely depending at least along the rear portions thereof to provide a narrow forward extension of said access opening.

2. In a gauntlet for the grip of a handle bar or the like, an elongated cuff having a front end opening for receiving a section of said handle bar and a rear end access opening, said cuff comprising opposed substantially vertical side wall panels interconnected along the forward parts of their lower edges and freely depending at the rear portions of said lower edges, a substantially horizontal upper wall panel disposed between and attached to the upper edges of said side wall panels, and fringe means depending from said rear portions of said lower edges.

3. In a gauntlet for the grip of a handle bar or the like, an elongated cuff having a front end opening for receiving a section of said handle bar and a rear end access opening, said cuff comprising opposed substantially vertical side wallsections of which the lower edges are unjoined at least along the rear portions thereof to provide a narrow forward extension of said access opening, and a skeleton-like reinforcing means for said cuff, said means comprising handle bar connecting means disposed about and coaxially of said front end opening, and rib means projecting upwardly and backwardly from said connecting means along and in support of the upper edges of said side wall panels.

4. In a gauntlet for the grip of a handle bar or the like, an elongated cuif having a front end opening for receiving a section of said handle bar and a rear end access opening, said cuff comprising opposed substantially vertical side wall panels of which the lower edges are unjoined along lower edge portions thereof to provide a forward extension of said access opening, fringe means extending along and depending from said lower edges, and a skeleton-like reinforcing means for said cuff, said means comprising ferrule handle bar connecting means disposed about and coaxially of said front end opening, and rib members projecting upwardly and. backwardly from said ferrule means respectively along and in supporting relation with the upper edges of said side wall panels.

5. In a gauntlet for the grip of a handle bar or the like, a supporting framework comprising a slender piece of material bent at an intermediate section thereof into the form of loop means disposable in telescopic relation with said handle bar, and said piece being further bent to project the end sections thereof in spacedapart relation and in the same direction generally axially and outwardly of said loop means.

6. In a gauntlet for the grip of a handle bar or the like, a cuff having a front opening for receiving said handle bar and a rear access opening, said cuff comprising a substantially vertical side wall member, an opposite side wall member, and front, bottom and top walls formed by a single member extending laterally between said side walls; said front opening being provided in the front wall, said access opening being provided between the rear edges of said side walls, and the rear edge of said bottom wall terminating forwardly of the rear edges of said side walls to provide a forward extension of the access opening.

7. A gauntlet for the grip of a handle bar 01' the like having a front opening for receiving a vertical side wall members of flexible sheet material, and means interconnecting said side wall members about their upper forward edges, their forward edges and their lower forward edges, the rear edges of said side wall members and the rear lower edges thereof being unconnected 5 to provide said access opening.

8. A gauntlet for the grip of a handle bar or the like having a front opening for receiving a section of said handle bar and a rear access opening and comprising opposed substantially vertical panels providing respective side walls of said gauntlet, additional panel means connected with and extending laterally between said panel member to form front, top and bottom walls of said gauntlet, said front wall being apertured to provide said front opening, said bottom wall being tapered rearwardly to substantially a point and terminating forwardly of the rear edges of said side wall panels, and said panels being unconnected along their lower edges rearwardly of said bottom wall to provide 10 a forward extension of said access opening.

ROBERT H. HARDER. 

